


Live For The Fight (when it's all that you got)

by Butterfly



Series: Scenes from a Resurrection Story [14]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Background Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh, Gen, Margo Hanson/Josh Hoberman (mentioned), Quentin Coldwater/Alice Quinn (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 13:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18757243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfly/pseuds/Butterfly
Summary: Margo goes shopping.





	Live For The Fight (when it's all that you got)

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings for: talking about a character who is a pedophile and rapist; mentions of depression and suicide. Erred on the side of caution with the rating, due to mature themes.

When Margo arrived at the penthouse with Twenty-Three to meet up with the group, everything was already a mess. Apparently, Forty had gone missing in the Underworld and McAllister was ready to start stirring shit up again, too.

“It would be nice if we only had to deal with one fucking problem at a time,” she muttered, as she settled her head against El's shoulder and swung her legs over Q's lap to keep him still. El wrapped an arm around her to keep her steady and pressed his mouth to the top of her head while Q placed an unsteady hand on her knee. “Hey, Q honey, before I share my news, are you all drugged up on the good stuff now?”

“Why, yes, Margo, I _am_ taking my doctor-prescribed medication as directed,” he said, dryly, and she gave him her most brilliant smile and tugged his hand up for a loud kiss on the palm. He rolled his eyes but didn't pull away, letting her move his hand to rest lightly on her waist.

“That's good, because – and you guys are gonna hate this – but I found out who the Dark King is, and it's literally the worst person. The actual _worst person_ we've ever met. We're talking about the nastiest flaming bag of stinking fecal matter we've ever laid eyes on.”

And, yep, Q got it right away, because he tensed up under her and muttered, “Oh no. We forgot him there, didn't we? And he can't- he can't die. Shit. _Shit_."

“Wait,” Alice said, straightening up on her stool with an indignant lurch. “You don't mean- Plover?”

“Bin-fucking-go.” It was a good thing she'd trapped Q under her, because he was shaking. But they couldn't keep treating him like he was made out of glass or he might start to believe it. Even so, she wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed reassuringly.

“He's had- had three hundred years to- to hurt people,” Q whispered, horrified, clutching at her hand so hard it hurt. “He's in _charge_. He's- oh, god.”

“Yeah, it's a lot of potential Martin Chatwins,” Margo said. “So, that's why the plan is to reverse the time-jump and _then_ murder the fucker.”

“Do we have a plan on how to do any of that?” Twenty-Three asked, leaning against the counter near Alice. Kinda far away from Julia. Margo eyeballed him thoughtfully.

“There are ways to travel to Fillory's past, we've done that before,” Julia said. “But those were- time loops. We didn't really change anything.”

“Not quite true,” Margo said, looking at Twenty-Three. “Jane's time loops rewrote time – created new universes. But the problem there is, we don't have the key anymore. Someone broke it.” She gave Alice a... not entirely unsympathetic look. “Anyway, if possible, I'd like to nuke the last three centuries for Fillory from orbit, not just partition them off into an alternate timeline.”

“Won't argue with that,” Eliot said, resting his cheek against her hair. “Bambi... did you find out any more details about what happened to Fen and Josh?”

“Just that the overthrowing was apparently... pretty violent. Fen, in particular, didn't go down easy,” Margo said. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “The Fanimorfs didn't really know much more than that.”

“I thought Coldwater said they were the Animorphs?” Kady asked.

“No, they're definitely the Fanimorfs. It's an acronym.” Margo sighed and went for it, “It's- they're... Fillorian Animals Not Imprisoned, Modified, or Forgotten. Yeah. Fillorians have never been great at naming their movements. I guess it's... nice?... that hasn't changed. Anyway, they fucking hate the Dark King, which is all that really matters.”

“I'm not- I'm not calling them that,” Q said, rebelliously.

“It's better than what they started as,” Margo told him. He gave her very suspicious eyebrows and she shrugged. “Okay, fine, I'll tell you. Apparently, when they first started up, they were just Fillorian Animals Not Imprisoned. FANI. That's definitely worse, Q. Let them have their extra letters.” She looked around the rest of the group and tilted her chin up demandingly. “Anyway, I'm taking volunteers to come do some investigative cooperative magic.” She leveled her gaze directly at Alice, who blinked and jumped a little in surprise.

“The- the Library-”

“Do you actually _like_ running the damn Library?”

Alice's silence spoke volumes.

“Well, I'm out,” Kady said. “At least for now.”

“Figured as much, with Forty missing. There's really no trace of him?” Margo asked. Kady sighed and shook her head.

“I- uh- I still don't remember much about my... my recent trip to the Underworld,” Q said, quietly. “But I do- I do remember Penny and I- we found some places way off the beaten path. And- and you guys couldn't locate me either for a while, right?”

“Right. The other Penny said that Hades was blocking you from our spells,” Julia said. “He might be doing something similar now, if he figured out the trick we did with the playing cards. And I was one who enchanted those cards, so I think I need to work with Kady on this one.”

“I'll help Margo in Fillory,” Twenty-Three said, very quickly, not looking in Julia's direction. “A traveler might come in handy.”

“Always,” Margo agreed, looking between him and Julia again. Hmm. She put that idea away to think about later, snuggled down into El and Q, and then asked, gently, “How about you two? It's been a beat. Up for a field trip?”

“I- I think I have to be,” Q said, ducking his head down a little, bangs brushing near his eyes. “Plover- I can't ignore that.” El didn't add anything to that, but nodded in agreement. She frowned slightly. He hadn't said anything since- since he'd heard for sure that Fen had died bloody. She'd have to talk to him about that- sometime when they weren't surrounded by everyone else.

“Your next appointment is in two days, right?” she asked Q.

“Yeah, but I can-”

“You're going,” she said, in her best High King voice. “We'll leave the day after. It's been three hundred years. They can wait a few more days. We'll head back to Fillory on Thursday, bright and early.” She pressed a kiss against El's cheek, and then Q's, as she hopped back up to her feet. Eliot was staring down at his hands. She hovered there uncertainly for a moment, but Q seemed to notice, too, and he leaned over and whispered something into El's ear that made him smile.

So, she left them to cuddle on the couch like the nervous middle-schoolers with crushes they were determined to play-act as, and collected Alice on her way out the door.

“We're going shopping,” she said breezily, tucking her hand around Alice's elbow. “Mama needs some supplies, and you could use something, too. Pantsuits are not a thing in Fillory.”

As she'd hoped, Alice – with a slight air of bewilderment about her – let Margo sweep her along with only mild protests. Margo gave her best distracting chatter as she led Alice down the stairs, along the road and straight to- ah, a portal that hurried them along to a lovely boulevard lined with shops. She took Alice to the clothing stores first, laying in a supply of cute but practical outfits that would survive well if they had to live in the Fillorian woods for too long. Then, she descended onto their next destination, ushering Alice in before she had a chance to look at the sign.

Alice came to a dead halt once they were inside. “Margo!”

“Hmm?” Margo yanked Alice out of the doorway, at least, and off to the side, giving her a few relaxing pats on the shoulder. “What is it?”

“Margo, this is a sex shop,” Alice whispered, glancing around frantically. “Why are we in a sex shop?”

“First off, it's a _magic_ sex shop, so... you know, keep that in mind.” Margo tugged gently at Alice's arm until they at least looked like they were browsing. “But I'm here to help myself get some clarity of mind. Hopefully. And you're going to help.” Alice gave her a suspicious look. “Not like that. Just- you remember that talk we had... uh, months ago – back when Josh was a fish.”

“Oh,” Alice said. Her mouth twitched and her eyes got a little wistful. “Yes. That was right before Q and I- before we- well.” Huh, it had been _that_ _soon_ before Q had- Margo gave herself a second to process, but then soldiered on.

“Right. I was telling you we fucked sometimes and he could be funny and he liked that I was a terrible person, and you said that you thought I sounded like I was in love with him.” Margo picked up a dildo and mentally compared it to Josh's dick, then put it back. Too narrow.

“Wait. _None_ of that is how I remember the conversation,” Alice said, looking slightly nauseous, in that way she did sometimes. “Um. I thought you were saying that... that you enjoyed having sex with him, and he made you happy, and that he was a kindred spirit who really understood you. As a person.”

“Okay, wow.” Margo stood there for a moment. “Yeah. That's _not_ what I was saying. Is that- is that how Coldwater makes you feel, Alice?”

“Are we gonna really talk about that?” she asked, her voice quavering a little.

“We don't have to,” Margo said. “But I'd recommend talking to _someone_ about it. If you can't trust me, then tell someone you can.”

“I'll consider it,” Alice said. “But-uh, what does this mean for you and Josh, then? Do you think- do you think you aren't in love with him?”

Margo sighed, picked up another dildo. Put it back on the shelf. “I think orgasms, laughter, and a little bit of empathy might not be the sum total of lifelong romantic love, yeah. I mean – and no offense meant – but I've gotten all three of those things from Q and El, too, which leaves me with a lot of questions and not many answers.”

“I don't understand why we needed to have this conversation _here_ ,” Alice said, a little forlornly.

“Because- because Q died. And I didn't think of Josh. Didn't want him to comfort me. Didn't long for his arms. Nothing like that. I didn't think of him at all until El and I started making plans to go back to Fillory. And when I _did_ think of him, I thought of-” she reached out and pulled another dildo out, eyeing it carefully. It seemed right. “I thought of sex, not love. So, what does that mean?”

Margo headed down the aisle, plucking up some more odds and ends as she went, Alice following her like she was on a string.

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Margo said. She smiled at the cashier as he rung through her purchases and bagged them. When they were all set, she added it to their other bags, and said to Alice as they were walking out, “Maybe- I'll know when I see him again, right? El said-” she stopped for a moment and gave Alice a slow look over. “Well, I'm given to understand that reuniting with a lost love can be a very clarifying moment.”

“Do you- do you _want_ to be in love with him?” Alice asked. A little shyly. At Margo's questioning look, she elaborated, “I spent- I spent a lot of the time I was with Q wishing that I wasn't. In love with him. It made everything more complicated. Do you want to be in love with Josh or would it make things harder?”

“On the contrary, being in love with him would make everything very easy,” Margo said, with a slightly bitter laugh. At Alice's look, she added, “You know. The werewolf thing.”

“Oh, I hadn't- I hadn't thought about that,” Alice said. “But you don't have to-”

“Yeah, sure, I can be constantly thinking and worrying about it instead of letting go and enjoying myself.” Margo shrugged. “Being in love with Josh would make a lot of things a whole fucking lot easier. Maybe that's why I grabbed onto the idea when you suggested it. Or maybe it's true. I don't know. I just honestly don't know.”

“I think I _was_ thinking of Quentin,” Alice said, softly. “When you were talking about Josh. I was thinking that- that the sex could be wonderful when we worked at it, and he could make me smile, and when I was with him, back when things were good, I didn't feel alone anymore. That's what love meant to me. Feeling like I was- like we were partners. And I thought we finally had that back. Or at least a chance at it.” Her breath shuddered out. “Then he- he... and we weren't partners after all. I was just the excuse he used to find a way out.”

“That's harsh,” Margo said. “You're more than that to him. You know that.”

“I wasn't. Not that day,” she said. “And I've- I've never been the person that Q's gone to when things are bad. That's _always_ been Eliot. So, I wonder- I wonder, if Eliot had been-”

“Oh, sweetheart. Don't do that to yourself.” Margo spun Alice around to face her, looking her right in the eyes. “That boy spent so much time loving you. It meant something. It mattered. Even if- even if you two never get back together, that doesn't mean he didn't love you with all his heart, okay? I was there after you died. He was torn to pieces over it. No, you don't have the same relationship with him that El does. Doesn't mean yours matters less.”

“I figured you were Team Eliot,” Alice said, with a little bit of a sniffle, but also a tiny smile.

“I'm Team Let My Damn Friends Be Happy For A Change,” Margo said, and she booped Alice on the nose. “Which includes you, hot stuff, so- let's work on figuring out what makes you happy. Starting with, not the fucking Library. You hate it there.”

“I do. I _hate_ it there.”

“So, you're gonna come to Fillory. We're gonna kill a pedophile and save the day. Sound good?”

“Yeah. It does. It really does.”

Margo hesitated a moment, then asked, “You hungry? I know a place nearby.” At Alice's nod, Margo took her by the hand, and then tugged her along the boulevard. And, hey, a good meal wouldn't make Alice happy forever, but it might make her happy for a couple of hours. That was a start.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.


End file.
